More than what meets the eye (Snowfall)
More than what meets the eye Part two, Mission Two, of Snowfall. After our luggage is collected, Sparkles, Amy and I step out of the airport. The plane had landed on the runway of a secluded airport, far from human eyes. Towering trees surround the area. From behind the tip of one, the sun glares softly over Florida. “So where do we stay?” asks Sparkles. “I’m sure they have hotels for cats dotted all over the USA.” Amy grins wildly. “That’s up to us!” she declares. Sparkles rummages around in the suitcase and pulls out her phone. She starts to speak to Siri when Amy snatches it off her. “Hey!” she retorts. “Don’t you want a place to stay for the night?” “What I meant was,” meows Amy slowly, “Is that we live like the homeless and travel around Florida. It’ll be like a road trip! But with no car.” “That’s like saying it’ll be like a musical with no singing, music, or dancing,” comments Sparkles drily. She shakes Amy by the shoulders. “I thought you said this wasn’t going to be dangerous!” Amy puts on a derping face. “Well, if we avoid the escaped convicts and shadowed areas, and shady people, we’ll be alright.” She springs out of Sparkles’ grip. “And that’s exactly where we’re going!” she squeals. Sparkles stares at her, mouth agape. “But you said…” “Nope! I lied!” Sparkles snarls in utter fury. Claws slide out of her paws. “What have you been taking? You’re not like this!” she screams. I try to sink into the floor as several cats stop to stare at us. Sparkles is true: Amy is usually a calm, collected, super-spy, but when the opportunity for danger arises, her brain flips out completely and she turns into a deranged psycho. I trail behind them as Sparkles marches a giggling Amy into a vacant car. “This is going to be so much fun!” giggles Amy before Sparkles slams the door. My perfect paradise is now ruined. We are chauffeured through various cities and towns, sometimes even the coastline. After a few hours of silence and no signs of where our destination might be, I lean over to sparkles. “So where exactly are we going? I mean, we’ve been driving around for hours.” “Driving in circles,” Sparkles corrects me irritably. I’m not sure if she’s annoyed at my lack of observation, or at the choice Amy made when the driver asked us where we wanted to go. ‘Just drive around in circles until we tell you to stop’, would be an exact quotation of Amy’s words. She’s now locked in the back of the car, snoring peacefully. “I wonder what came over Amy,” I say. “Ever since we were kits, she’s always the one to fling herself into danger. Skydiving without a parachute? She’ll do it without even thinking of the safety hazards. Francium dropped in the ocean? She’ll have chunks of it strapped to her body and she’ll be the one to be dropped. Splitting an atom? A no-brainer. Et cetera, et cetera.” “But she seems so calm,” I gasp. “At our house, on the plane, she seemed exactly the opposite.” Sparkles licks my ears. “Her insane behaviour wears off quickly,” she reassures me. She signals for the driver. “Drop us off here,” she orders. The driver, a sleek black tom with white flecks, slams down on the breaks. Sparkles and I lurch forwards, and a loud thump followed by a yelp is heard behind us. “Take it easy!” Amy yelps. “Why the heck did you do that for? It’s not like we were about to crash into another vehicle!” The driver turns around, and grins at us charmingly. “When you’ve been driving in circles for the past few hours, you’re just too excited to brake the car normally.” He steps out and manages somehow to open the door. When I ask him how he did it, he bows his head and replies, “The art of driving a taxicab, m’dear.” He walks to the back of the taxi and unlocks the boot. Amy staggers out, her fur a dusty mess. Sparkles’ phone is in her mouth. “So, ready for an adventure?” she yawns. We’re in the outskirts of a city, and in the distance the ocean can be seen. Amy drops the phone on the ground. “Let’s see… We’re in Tampa. There’s an island called Anna Maria to its west. If this was a normal trip, we’d go there, but since we’re playing by my rules, let’s just hit downtown Tampa!” She picks up Sparkles’ phone and trots merrily into the heart of the city. I look to Sparkles for advice, but she just shrugs and follows her sister, pulling along the suitcase. I have no choice but to follow too. “So where exactly are we going?” I ask Amy. “I already said, downtown Tampa. Maybe even the centre. Eh, forget it, let’s just roam.” She breaks into a galloping run. “Sorry for the change of plan! We’ll roam the streets until evening, then find a cat hotel, then hit the beach tomorrow!” I run to catch up with Sparkles and take the suitcase. “Just run ahead!” I meow to her through the handle of the suitcase. She nods and speeds ahead of me. Soon we find ourselves in a dark alley. “Amy, I think we made a wrong turn,” I squeak. Water drips off of pipes, echoing as they crash to the ground. Human breaths can be heard, and when something large and sweaty clamps down on my tail I scream like I was being exorcised. I claw at the thing, and eventually it lets go, cursing into the darkness. “This is all your fault!” Sparkles snaps at Amy. “You led us here deliberately! Now poor Snowpaw is traumatised and we’re lost!” Amy shrugs the comment off. “It’s my trip, my rules. Play by them or I’ll abandon you here.” Sparkles shrieks in rage. She lunges at Amy, swiping her unsheathed claws across her face. Amy hisses back and manages to throw her off. She grabs my scruff and drags me along the dark passageways. “We can’t leave her!” I wail. “And I thought you liked danger!” “I do,” Amy admits slowly. “But I also have mood swings sometimes when I am around danger. Now is not one of those times.” “But she’s your sister,” I snarl. I twist around, and uppercut her with my paw. Amy yelps and releases me accidentally. I wriggle out from her grip, and stare into the darkness. Somewhere Sparkles is trapped there. “Snowpaw, look at me!” Amy pleads. “I’m sorry, okay? My mind is a mess. I have mood swings: first calm, then crazy, then selfish, then… I don’t know! But do you really think I’m a bad guy?” The words bounce off me. “She’s your sister, and my best friend,” I snarl. “We can’t just abandon her.” I turn away from Amy. “I’m going back there.” Amy calls back for me, but I ignore her. “Sparkles!” I yell. “Sparkles!” Ignore the creepy sounds, the laughs of scared criminals and shady people. Just find Sparkles. “Snowpaw?” she screams back from above. Above? I look up. Sparkles is pressed against the wall of a building, balanced on a thin ledge that could collapse any second. Around us is the snarling of several, brutish, spike-collared dogs. “How did you get up there?” I scream. “That doesn’t matter,” she wails. “Snowpaw, what should I do?” I stare at her, remembering times when I was the one in peril, asking her for advice. Now the roles have been switched. What would Sparkles say in this situation? “J.. Just jump!” I splutter. “Wold you rather plummet to your death and get ripped apart, or jump down and run? Your a cat, you can make it!” Sparkles bunches up her muscles in the preparation of the jump. But the ledge snaps. You know when something bad happens and someone is falling, everything happens in slow motion? That’s what’s happening now. The ledge snaps, and drops into the darkness. Sparkles drops, screaming. She lands with a sickening, final thud. The dogs rush past me, piling over the body. “Sparkles!” I scream. But she can’t hear me. Not anymore. She’s gone. And it’s all my fault. I run back to Amy blindly. “Sparkles is dead!” I wail. Amy stares at me, her eyes wide. “What?” “You heard me! She’s dead!” “Oh,” was all she could manage. She whisks me out of the dark and onto the streets. “Let’s get something to eat and you can tell me everything.” We trudge through a forest of legs and buildings, before finally disappearing into the gap between a coffee shop and a butcher’s hidden by a wrought iron fence that hid the place, wherever we were going, out of view. It’s nicely polished, with red and beige checkered tiles covering the floor. Dainty sets of tables and chairs scatter the floor, along with a few cushioned armchairs and low tables. To one side is a modern counter stacked high with various snacks, as well as the usual equipment for a coffee shop. Behind the counter is a workspace for baristas, with the sinks and coffee machines. The roof is a large glass panel, allowing the sun’s light to warm the room. I think the whole place is solar powered too. And of course, the whole place is occupied by cats. “Welcome,” says Amy with a flourish to Catbucks.” She leads me over to the counter. “Decaf cappuccino and peach lemonade, please.” The barista at the counter, a plump pale brown tabby scrawls on a notepad using his mouth. “Your names?” he asks us. “Amy and Snowpaw,” Amy answers at once brightly. “Have fun!” I look at her like she’s just sprouted rabbit ears. Why did you say—” “They always get our names wrong,” huffs Amy. “They do it on purpose. They say it’s the best part of the job.” She winks at me. “And I have to admit, I agree with them. Personal experience.” I nod slowly. “That’ll be five dollars.” The barista interrupts our conversation with an outstretched paw. A worrying thought pops into my head. “I lost the suitcase,” I mutter. “What? You lost it?” Amy snarls. Frightened, I back away. Amy lest out a peal of laughter. “Oh darling, have you ever heard of a credit card?” She fishes a small red card out of a small satchel tied around her body and sides it over the counter. When she gets it back, we head to one of the tables with armchairs. “So, how are you liking Florida?” Amy asks me calmly as we wait for our drinks. “I’ve been driven in circles for hours, almost experienced whiplash, been almost kidnapped, and watched my best friend die. Such a great time,” I drawl sarcastically. “We’ll go the the beach tomorrow. But first we’ll find a cat hotel. I’ve changed my mind about the danger thing. Sparkles’ death made me realise that. We’ll stay here for a week, then head back.” Amy wraps her tail around me. “So, what exactly happened?” I take a deep breath. “After I ran from you, I screamed Sparkles’ name to see if she was nearby.” Amy stares at me in concentration as I go on. “When I found her, she was on a thin ledge. There were dogs approaching us from all angles. I told her to jump down, and she prepared to jump. But then the ledge snapped, and she fell to the ground. The dogs moved in for the kill. I screamed her name once more, but she didn’t reply…” The tears were a hurricane now. Amy wraps her tail around me and pulls me closer to her. “We’ve both lost her,” Amy whispers. She jerks her head up as a barista shouts “Decaf cappuccino and peach lemonade!” “That’s us. I’ll get the drinks.” Amy stands up and weaves her way through the cats already enjoying their beverages. I decide to study them. It’s a rainbow of fur, from calico to a mottled cream. And shockingly there are crimson cats, lilac kitties with midnight blue flecks, and one or two who were rainbows! Not exactly, though. Their fur is like a rainbow. It’s nice. :3 One cat, a yellowish-brown she-cat is staring at me, as if scanning me or absorbing me into her memory. And on her forehead is a white tattoo, like Pi had. Are the two cats related in some way? Is this cat working for The Hidden. She notices me, glances around frantically, then she leaps off her chair and hurries out of the room. “Amy Amy Amy!” I gabble frantically. “There’s a cat from The Hidden and she’s stalking me!” I shriek as Amy returns. She sets both drinks on the table. “What did you see?” I take a few deep breaths. “A yellowish-brown she-cat with a white mark on her forehead like Pi had.” “Who’s Pi?” Amy asks me, puzzled. “He was in charge of cats in a school, and he shot loads of kids using a machine gun. He planted a bomb to kill load more but I defused it. Then he released a bomb of toxic gas whitch detonated. I had to find him and I killed him, almost killing myself in the process. And that was my first mission!” I added brightly. “Pi works for The Hidden.” “Okay, so you think this cat who works for The Hidden is stalking you?” says Amy. “Yeah.” “Okay then. I guess I’ll have to report this to FROST.” Out of her satchel she pulls out Sparkles’ phone and makes a call. Snarl sat in his office, watching the storm tear the world outside his window apart. A storm in late Springtime? ''he snorted in his mind. ''Preposterous! At that moment the phone rang. It was dusty and black, but years of unused had turned it to a smoky grey. He had a personal mobile phone for calls personally for him rather than FROST, - an iPhone - but that was used rarely, and only FROST agents knew that number. So who the hell is calling the office phone? ''he wondered. Sighing, he walked over to the phone at the other side of the room and glanced at the number briefly. He did a double-take, and stared at the number. “Sparkles?” he wondered out loud. Hurriedly he picked up the phone. “Hello?” the voice asked at the other end. Before Snarl could reply, the voice carried on. “Yes, this is Amethyst. I know, I have my own phone and a chopper. I’m in Florida with Snowpaw. At Catbucks, Tampa. She’s fine, with a peach lemonade. Quite delectable,” Amethyst rambled on. “If this is sparkles’ phone then where is she?” Snarl snapped, cutting the cat’s ramble off quite sharply. “Dead,” Amethyst replied numbly. “What?” Snarl gasped shortly. “What the hell happened?” The cat on the other end paused. “Snowpaw was the eyewitness. She—” “Then let me talk to her then,” Snarl snapped impatiently. He had lost one of his best agents. And why were they in Florida? And Amethyst was supposed to be in China! He shook his head as the phone was handed to Snowpaw. “It all started yesterday night,” she began. Her voice was raw, as if she’s been crying. “Sparkles and I won the Lottery. I don’t remember how much, but it was millions.” Snarl widened his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he gasped. “Then Amy showed up, and she took us to Florida,” Snowpaw continued. “She then announced the trip was going to be deliberately dangerous, and so we were driven in circles by taxi, entered Tampa, and went down a dark alleyway. I was almost kidnapped by a shady escaped convict who wanted my organs or something.” “This is so unacceptable! I am going to suspend Amy as soon as you get back!” Snarl screeched. “Sparkles blamed Amy for what had almost happened to me and they fought. Amy left Sparkles in the alleyway and grabbed me and we escaped. I went back for Sparkles, and I found her on a thin ledge. Dogs were approaching. She prepared to jump down, but the ledge broke and she fell.” “Oh.” Snarl paused. “We’ve all lost her.” “And now we’re going to get a hotel this evening, spend a day at the beach tomorrow and head home the next day,” Snowpaw chirped, slightly brighter than before. “Oh, and I forgot to tell you that a yellowish-brown cat with a white tattoo on her head like Pi had is stalking me.” “What did her tattoo look like?” Snarl asked demandingly. “I- I don’t know,” Snowpaw admitted sheepishly. Snarl turned away from the phone and picked up his iPhone. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said to Snowpaw. “Try get her body back to the UK, okay?” He put the phone down. For once, something interesting had happened. Amy puts Sparkles’ phone back into her satchel, finishes her coffee and my lemonade, then walks out of Catbucks, leaving me to follow her. “Hotel, first thing.” “Then the beach?” I ask hopefully. The beaches here are golden with turquoise-blue waters. Compared to the merger, grey beaches of England, Florida coasts are like something from a dream! “We’ll be at the beach all day tomorrow,” Amy promises, purring silkily. We walk on. The streets are far less crowded now, and the sun is slowly falling behind the trees, reaching the horizon at a snail’s pace. It’s a ball of fire, and it’s the first time I’ve been able to see the sun without being blinded. “So where’s the hotel?” I ask Amy, puzzled. Amy jerks out of her own thoughts and checks the phone. “It’s around the corner,” was all she said. The Historic Harbour Hotel, which is nowhere near a harbour or is in no way historic (but it is a hotel), is situated on the border between the beach and the city itself. It looks relatively modern. From the outside the hotel looks cozy, built with blue stones and decorated with smaller grey tiles. Tall, wide windows add to the overall style of the house in a fair, symmetrical pattern. The building is a small box of a house, tucked out of sight behind two large chain resorts. I guess this is our home for the next week or so. “So… this is also run by cats?” I yawn flatly. “Yes, otherwise we’d have our hindquarters kicked out of any regular hotel doors,” replies Amy as we step through. The lobby is nothing special: the usual hotel lobby matching the colour scheme of the exterior of the building. A small white she-cat sits behind the counter. “Are you booked?” she asks us from the other side of the room, in a surprising British accent. Amy hurries to the white cat. “Amy Frost, any room you have available with two beds.” The cat starts to scribble down something in a register, then pauses. “You’re already booked in.” Amy and I exchange glances. “Room 301.” she hands us the keys and shoos us away. “But who booked us in?” I cry out as an invisible force makes us walk towards an elevator. “That’s not important,” Amy hisses worriedly. But I know she’s thinking the same thing. “Maybe it was that cat from The Hidden.” I jump up excitedly. “We don’t know if that cat has even heard of The Hidden,” Amy scoffs as we shuffled out of the elevator and to room 301. Like magic, the lock clicks open. ''From the inside. “What took you so long?” chirps a voice. No… how is this happening?